10 Disturbing Facts About David Ray, The American Serial Killer

Described by the FBI as one of the most intelligent criminals the world has ever known, David Parker Ray stands out in the twisted world of depraved humans who derive pleasure from the pain and tears of others. From rape to torture and murder, David Ray did it all. Before his arrest in 1999, it is said that the man has committed over 60 murders and his victims were mainly young women.

David Ray received a long sentence in 2001 after a court found him guilty of torture and kidnapping, however, nature had an alternative judgement for him a year later – he died of a heart attack while still in prison. His death may do little to assuage his victims and their families but one thing is certain, the world had been rid of one less monster. David Ray can do no more evil, he can’t harm any other person.

Disturbing Facts About David Ray

A man who had so much blood on his hands is already as monstrous as he can get, nevertheless, there are other curious facts about the man one ought to know. They include the under-listed.

1. His childhood was a rough one

David Parker Ray had quite a rough childhood. Born in November 1939, he was raised by his grandfather and was rarely visited by his violent alcoholic father. As a teen, Ray was often abused physically by his father who also furnished him with magazines containing sadomasochistic pornography. These are probably responsible for the mundane sexual fantasies which David Ray grew up with and which he spent his entire life practising.

2. David Ray’s infamous “Toy Box”

The serial rapist and “suspected” killer owned a motor home which he converted into a torture chamber wherein he carried out most of his heinous crimes. This Toy Box was furnished with an assortment of torture equipment and weapons including whips, chains, clamps, pulleys, leg-spreader bars, sex toys, surgical blades, saws, syringes and so much more.

David Ray ensured that the motor home was soundproof to prevent drawing attention and it also had its own electricity generator with which he administered electrical shocks to his victims.

3. His Accomplices

It is given that some serial killers usually operate solo, nonetheless, quite a number of them are able to get assistance from other depraved minds like theirs. David Parker belonged to the latter group who not only had the mind to conceive the most unimaginable crimes but also had the personnel required to execute his terror.

Among his known accomplices were his girlfriend, Cindy Hendy and a young man named Dennis Roy Yancy. Cindy Hendy helped Ray to drug and lure unsuspecting victims to the Toy Box. Yancy, after he was arrested, admitted to strangling one of his own former girlfriends whom Ray had kidnapped and tortured.

4. His own daughter was also an accomplice

This goes to show that evil might just be a hereditary trait. Glenda Jean ‘Jesse’ Ray is David Parker’s daughter and she helped him accomplish most of his evil activities. However, prior to joining her father to carry out his evil activities, Jesse had warned the authorities about her father’s criminal deeds. The allegations were unfounded and therefore were not given further attention. She eventually switched sides, from FBI informant Jesse became her father’s partner in crime, helping him to lure women into her father’s Toy Box where their woes began.

5. His targets

In order to keep himself safe, the infamous sadist and serial rapist usually preyed on a group of women he believed were less likely to be looked for by anyone if they went missing. David Ray also found it much easier to get these women to come along with him to his torture chamber.

In addition to that, he also figured out that even if these women were brave enough to accuse him of any wrongdoing, due to their social standing, they were less likely to be believed by the authorities. However, some of his victims didn’t fit into this profile.

6. He kept his victims informed

Information is power, they say, but for the notorious sadist, rapist and torturer, it was just another tool of torture. Among the variety of equipment in his Toy Box was a homemade gynaecologist’s chair furnished with an overhead mirror. With the mirror, his helpless victims were able to see exactly what was happening to them.

He also had a vile pre-recorded audio tape which he played for his victims on their first day. The recording usually contained a graphic description and detailed explanation of the horror that was about to befall them.

7. The Man had a “normal” life

There is nothing normal about a sadist who spent his leisure torturing and killing women. However, to the uninformed, David Ray was just a regular guy who had a job like everyone else. Unlike the creepy sinister-looking idle monster you would imagine him to be, Ray had a day job as a mechanic.

He had earlier served in the military as a mechanic after which he received an honourable discharge. In fact, his technical ability as a mechanic helped him to transform his trailer home into the perfect torture dungeon.

8. David Ray’s sex parties

Even though one of his neighbours facilitated the escape of his first known victim and his arrest, some of them were in the know of his heinous activities. It turns out that David Ray also held sex parties inside his torture trailer. In attendance were his equally depraved friends and neighbours who were also allowed to have sex with his victims. The sex shows also involved having dogs rape the victims to the perverted delight of David Ray’s guests.

9. He was a very intelligent man

Many would agree to the fact that David Ray had no good in him, but one thing is sure, he was very good at covering his tracks. Even though he was said to have committed over 60 murders, Ray was never convicted of murder. In fact, the only evidence that linked him to all those murders was found in his diaries after his arrest. In the diaries, he wrote detailed accounts of all the women he had allegedly tortured and murdered.

Following his arrest in 1999, about 100 FBI agents were deployed to search his property and surroundings. However, no single trace of human remains was found. Nearly 2 decades after, the FBI has not succeeded in tying him to any of the murders.

10. How did he meet his Waterloo?

Thankfully, David Ray’s long streak of terror on the city of Truth and Consequence came to an end on March 22, 1999. David Ray’s very last victim Cynthia Vigil was fortunate to escape from the Toy Box. Prior to that, Ray had let many of his victims to go, nevertheless, he ensured that he totally erased their memories of the nightmare they had been put through. However, Cynthia Vigil’s escape signalled the end for the legendary monster David Parker Ray.

On that fateful morning, Ray left for his day job, leaving Cynthia Vigil in the Toy Box with his girlfriend Cindy Hendy. Vigil who had already spent 3 days in the torture chamber, was able to fight off Cindy after unlocking the chains on her hands. She then dashed out of the trailer with nothing on her, except the iron dog collar on her neck. She made her way to a nearby home where the occupants took her in and gave her a robe. They quickly called 911 and the rest, as they say, is history.